


one of hers

by ThanksForListening



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort, post 3x18, slight angst but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2021-01-30 20:14:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21434053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThanksForListening/pseuds/ThanksForListening
Summary: right after 3x18, Shaw takes a look at Root's new hearing aid for the first time
Relationships: Root | Samantha Groves & Sameen Shaw, Root | Samantha Groves/Sameen Shaw
Comments: 7
Kudos: 164





	one of hers

**Author's Note:**

> this takes place right after the episode where Root gets the hearing aid in. if you couldn't tell, im rewatching the show and writing fics as i go lol.

Shaw couldn’t stop staring at the scar. 

She couldn’t see it very well anymore, not with the new hearing aid Root had gotten in the time it took her to fight her way out of Vigilence’s grasp. But if you knew where to look, you could just see the scar tissue, peeking out from behind her ear. And Shaw knew exactly where to look.

Standing in the hallway, she tried to get the image out of her head. She’d never once wished to be ignorant, but right now she almost regretted having the medical knowledge she did. She knew too much about that procedure, knew the agony it caused people who felt pain in the right way, especially without an anesthetic, which she was certain Control didn’t use. She also knew Root. She’d smile and flirt her way through anything, which normally didn’t bother her, but there was something so invasive about taking the hearing from someone who’s livelihood seems to rest on listening to the words from her machine overlord. She added it to her list of reasons she was going to kill Control, when she finally got the chance. It founds its way near the top, second only to Shaw’s own murder.

The door opened, and she watched Root walk out, Fusco a few steps behind her. If Root was surprised to see her waiting, she didn’t show it; instead, she said something to Fusco, and a minute later he was gone, walking past them and into the elevator. 

“You miss me already?” 

“Move your hair.”

Root raised an eyebrow at her, and Shaw wondered if The Machine knew what she was doing, if it was whispering away into Root’s ear as they spoke.

“If you want to play with my hair, all you have to do is ask, Sweetie.”

Shaw rolled her eyes, stepping forward and reaching for the hair on her right side. Root flinched. Shaw looked up and saw poorly disguised panic in her eyes. She swore to herself as she held her hand up, palm out. “I just want to make sure the doctor who operated on you at gunpoint didn’t screw anything up.” 

“Oh.” The word was so uncharacteristically meek. It made her angry. 

“Figured you might not have wanted me to look at it with the boys around.” She said, trying to soften her voice as much as she could. Her bedside manner had never been up to standards, but she hoped by now Root would be able to recognize her intent, would hear Shaw’s attempt at what most people called empathy. 

“I appreciate that,” Root said quietly, pulling her hair up and away from her ear carefully, like she was scared to touch it.

Shaw moved her head closer. It looked like it had healed alright — by some miracle the original cut hadn’t gotten infected, which had been her biggest concern, despite what she told Root. The device didn’t seem to be impacting the healing, and she silently commended whichever doctor Root had forced into working on her. 

Her eyes and hands lingered, just for a few seconds. She stared at the incision, at the hearing aid that would only help her hear one voice. She wasn’t sure when it had happened, but somewhere between the gunfights and the sacrifices, Root had become one of hers. One of theirs. And the thought of someone else cutting into her, robbing her of one of the things she valued most…

Shaw forced the fire in her chest to simmer as she took a step back, letting Root release her hair and cover the permanent reminder of her time in captivity. “Keep an eye on it,” she told her. “If it ever starts swelling, itching, turning red, steal some antibiotics. I’d tell you which ones, but I have a feeling that voice in your head already knows.”

Root just nodded. Shaw didn’t know what to do with her silence. She usually begged for it, but now that it was here, it felt too...wrong. Almost painful.

“How are you holding up?” She asked, searching for the words she knew most people didn’t have to search for. 

“Just got a clean bill of health from my favorite doctor, so I’d say I’m doing alright.” Shaw could hear the attempt to flirt, to lighten up, to deflect. It almost worked. 

“You know what I mean, Root. Trauma—“

“—is nothing I haven’t dealt with before.”

“This is different.”

Root laughed, but it was a broken sound, without an ounce of humor. “Oh, really? How so?” 

She knew Root’s agitation wasn’t really aimed at her, but that didn’t stop it from setting her off. “It’s different,” Shaw snapped, “because she took something you can never get back. Bullet wounds will scar for a while and then fade away. This won’t ever fade.”

For two and a half seconds, neither of them spoke. It was Root who broke the silence, who whispered in a way that Shaw could only name as angry, although anger wasn’t quite right: “You think I don’t know that?” Shaw bit her lip when she saw the tears in Root’s eyes, doing their best to stay exactly where they were. 

“Root—“

“It’s fine.” Root shook her head. “I have a direct connection to Her now, one they can’t take away. That alone is worth any amount of pain.”

Shaw took a breath, tried to say what she wanted to the right way. “Just because you can make a good thing come out it doesn’t mean you have to pretend like you didn’t lose something.”

Root didn’t speak for a minute, and Shaw was convinced she’d ruined it again, before she sighed. “It was...unnerving. Still is. I walk down the street, and I feel like there’s somebody behind me. And I know that if they were, I’d have no idea unless She told me.” Root shrugged, looking down at her hands. “It’s been a while since I felt that vulnerable.”

Shaw forced the feelings of guilt down her throat. It burned like bile. She thought about Root on the ground, bleeding from her arm, telling her to go, to leave her behind. And she did. And for days, for weeks, after, she had to wait and see if that choice had cost Root her life, had to grapple with the fact that the thought was more than concerning, when six months ago she’d have gladly put a few rounds in her and called it a day. Watching Root, listening to her speak, Shaw decided she wouldn’t make that mistake again. Whatever pain, whatever torture came with being captured by the enemy, she could handle it. She would handle it. It was a promise, one she made to herself and no one else, although she wondered if The Machine somehow knew the thoughts that ran through her head. 

“I may not get your obsession with it, but I know The Machine would never leave you unprotected,” Shaw told her, “and if you let us, neither will we.”

This time Root smiled, and it actually reached her eyes. “Why Sameen,” She drawled, “are you saying you’ll be my knight in shining armor?”

Shaw shook her head, but she couldn’t stop the smile from sneaking onto her face. “Get out of here before I change my mind.” Root started to walk away, but she only made it a few steps before Shaw called after her. 

“Be careful,” Shaw said when Root turned back toward her. Root froze, before she walked straight to Shaw and kissed her on the cheek. She felt her entire body tense up, but before she could respond Root had backed away. She could feel her cheek heat up where there would surely be a lipstick stain, and she had to force herself not to reach for it.

“Thank you, Sameen.” Roots voice was soft and genuine, and Shaw decided she could give her this moment. Just this once.

**Author's Note:**

> i have more on the way so be on the look out. hit me up on tumblr if u want @Thanks--for--listening. every kudos and comments make me smile like an idiot so u know if u wanna send those my way.....would not be opposed to that. if my timeline is off then oops they aren't great about letting u know how much time has passed so ur girl had to guess lol
> 
> also i suck at tagging my fics so if u have any ideas on what else to tag this shit let me know


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